Instrument cabinet



Dec. 12, 1961 E. v. ANDERSON EI'AL 3,012,835

INSTRUMENT CABINET Filed June 13, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I Zil 606w V Odey'sorz se Fz QMQCK @236 rf -zay Dec- 12, 1961 E. v. ANDERSON ETAL3,012,835

INSTRUMENT CABINET 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 13, 1958 Gab -r180 9998x? CZMQQA 0021x411. Mg:

wt! Grader-5w HiYWA/MWQ Dec. 12, 1961 E. v. ANDERSON ETAL 3,012,835

INSTRUMENT CABINET Filed June 15, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I-zderzfQy-s ez: 6 Mack v tziw jlfrzb erg" dwu-zvOr-zders'or? United States PatentThis invention relatesto an instrument cabinet and more particularly toan instrument cabinet in which the height of the, cabinet may be variedbyfthe use of various size side spacers. q

Instrument cabinets are important articles in the modern-day world ofinstrumentation. Instruments such as electrical equipment, radioequipment, gauges, and the like are used extensively in industry,research, and various other fields. These instruments must be protectedagainst damagefrom contact, foreign matter'a'nd other causes. To protectagainst damage, instruments are commonly mounted in cabinets, but veryoften the instruments are modified, such as by enlargingthe number orsize of 'components, and the instrument is no longer adaptable to thecabinet so that the cabinet must be discarded and replaced by' adifferent size cabinet.

The present invention provides an instrument cabinet which can be variedin size by the addition of side spacers of variou s sizes. The same topand bottom portions are useable with the various side spacers so thatthe major portions of the cabinet may be reuseable. This also permitsthe stockpiling of a minimum number of pieceswhich can be'combined invarious ways to form any desired size cabinet. Further, the constructionof the present invention does not require an interior framework exceptfor vertical corner channels which also serve to mount theinstrument-bearing panels or the instruments themselves, and thus thepresent invention minimizes the parts and material necessary.

One embodiment of the present invention provides a top which is hingedto the cabinet so that it can be raised to permit access to theinstruments within the cabinet. This facilitates any repair ormodification of the instruments and permits work to be done withouthaving to remove the instruments from the cabinet. i

It is the object of the present invention to provide a newand improvedinstrument cabinet.

Anothenobject of the present invention'is to provide a new and improvedinstrument cabinet which can be varied in size by the use of varioussize side spacers.

A further object of the present invention-is to provide anew andimprovedinstrument cabinet of variable size which maybe inexpensi elyconstructed vwith a minimum of parts and material.

7 Other and further objects and features of the present.

and drawings in'which: v r p 1 FIG. 1 is a perspective view of aninstrument cabinet illustrating the hinged top embodiment ofthe presentmvention; v FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an instrument cabinetillustrating another embodiment of the present invention;

invention will be apparent from the following description 'FIG. 3 isatop plan view partially broken awayof the instrument cabinet of FIG. 2;

I FIG. 4 is a vertical sectionaljview taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3,;

5 is a perspective view of the assernbled chassis guides and chassissupports mountable intheinstrument cabinets of the preceding figures;

FIG. 5 is avertical sectional View similar-to FIG. 4

v 70 FIG. 71's av vertical sectional;view;taken along line" andincluding spacer members;

7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG, 8 is a perspective view of an attaching plate which is anelementofthe cabinet oi the present invention;

, FIG. 9 is an enlarged broken-away view of a portion of the cabinetOfFIG. 6; and I I FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the hinged topembodiment. of-the present invention with the top, top'panel,

hinge, and

bottom strip in solid, and the remainder indot- Referrlng now tothedrawings, the cabinet of the pres,- ent invention will .lbe describedindetail. "In FIG. .2, the

, cabinet is generally indicated as 10 and is seen to include 7 a topmember 11 and ,a bottom member shown in FIG. 2.

' Mounted within the cabinet 10 are v ertical channel bars 15 whicharesecured to the top member 11, spacer members 13, and botto mfmernber 12to increase the rigidity and strength ofthecabinet. These channel, bars15 support the panel members, 14-and also. serve as-a mountingfor -thechassis support structure 16.

, sides 19. The front edges The top member 11 and bottom member-12 maybe formed of sheet-metal and maybe of identical construction, each beingU-shaped so astohave a base 18 and 20 and .rear edges 2I1- are roundedto give a smooth and streamlined-appearance to the cabinet and aninturned flange 23 is formed- ,at the edge-of the front and rear'of thetop and bottom mem-- bers to strengthen the members and to frame arecess in which the panels 14 or other equipment may be mounted.

' A similar inturned flange24 member 12 to form a is formed at the outerend of the sides 19 of the top or bottom member. These flanges 24 areprovided to facilitate attaching to adjacent members. i

The top member 11 may be secured to the bottom low cabinet, or thespacer-members 13 may be attached to space the top and "bottom membersas inv FIG. 2. These spacer members13 may also, be formedof sheet metaland have top and bottom inturned flanges 28 which mate with the inturnedflanges 24 at the end of the bottom members. The front and rear edges 29of the spacer members 13 are roundedin the. same manner as thefront andrear edges 20 and ;21: of the top and bottom members so as to form acontinuation thereof, and similarly the front and rear edges 29' areprovided with inturned flanges 30 to form a continuation of the flanges2 3st thefront and rear of the top and bottom members Thespacer embers13 may be attachedto the top and bottommembers 11 and 12 in anyconvenient manner such as by bolts 31 extending'through the matingflanges 24 and 28 of the adjacent spacer members Band top and bottommembersll and '12. When nuts 32 are tightened on these bolts .31, acomplete cabinet '10 is formed. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2,two bolts are utilized at each mating edge so that only 8 bolts arerequiredto attach the spacers 13 in position, and therefore it isrelatively easy to replace the. side spacers with a different size orremove the side spacers altogether so that the top member 11 is mounteddirectly to the bottom member 12. Thus, it is obvious that the cabinetmay be expanded to .any desirable height depending on the height of thespacer members 13 available. t

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the spacer members 13 are seento be formed with. louvers 34. These louvers are provided to permitcirculation of air through the cabinet 10 so that when equipment which'1 sires of the user,

gene rates heat is mounted within the cabinet, the warm air may pass outthrough the louvers and cooler air may enter through the louvers. Ifdesired, perforations may be used in place of the louvers depending uponthe deand, of course, a plain panel may be 3 utilized without eitherlouvers or perforations if there is no need to ventilate the cabinet 10.

In order to mount the vertical channel bars 15 in the cabinet 10,attaching plates 35 are secured to the inturned flanges 23 and 24 of thetop member 11 and bottom member 12 and also tothe inturned flanges 28and 30 of the spacer members 13. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of, anattaching plate 35 shown mounted to the backside of an 'inturned flange39 of the spacer member 13. The plate extends from'the top to the bottomof the flange 30 and has an attaching portion'36 extending to the cornerof the flange 30 and secured to the flange as by welding or othersuitable means; A projecting portion 37 extends from the attachingportion 36 away from the flange 30 to provide a mounting for the channelbars 15. This extending portion' 37 is provided with holes 38 spacedfrom the flanges 30 a distance at least as great as the distance fromthe flange 30to the slots 44 in the channel bars 15. The channel bar canbe mounted on the plate 35 by aligning the slots 44 with the. holes 38in the plate and attaching bolts 45 through the holes and slots. Theprojecting portion 37 extends beyond the holes 38 a distance suflicientto provide the desired strength in the plate. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 8, the plate extends to the inner end of the channelbar 15.

Similar attaching plates 35 are secured in the top member 11 and bottommember 12 and, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the plates extend from the endsof the top and bottom panels along the flanges 23 and 24 and slightlybeyond the bottom of the flange of the bottom member 12 and beyond thetop of the flange of the top member 1 1. These extensions at the top andbottom provide added support for the channel bars 15 but may beeliminated if desired.

These plates 35 not only provide means for attaching the channel bars tothe top member 11, spacer members 13 and bottom member 12, but alsorigidify the flanges 23 and the channel bars 15 to provide a strongstructure capable of supporting heavy instrumentation or other articleswithout failure. The thickness of the plates 35 may be varied as desireddepending on the structural strength required. Further, although thedrawings illustrate the use of two attaching bolts 45 to attach thechannel bars 15 to each plate 35, a stronger attachment may be obtainedby providing more holes 38 and slots 44 so that more bolts 45 may beused. The preferred embodiment utilizes the illustrated combination oftwo bolt attachments which satisfactorily prevents movement of thechannel bar with respect to the top, bottom or spacer members.

The vertical channel bars 15 are U-shaped in horizontal cross sectionwith the base 43 adjacent the attaching plates 35 and having slots 44mating with the holes 38 of the plates 35 so that the channels 15 may besecured to the plates by locking screws 45 passing through both theslots 44 and the holes 38. The sides 46 and 47 of each channel extendinto the panel opening of the cabinet 10 and are provided with aplurality of vertical aligned holes 48. The outer side 46 is ,suitablefor mounting panels 14 as 'by sheet metal screws extending through thepanels and through one of the holes 48 and locked in place by a speednut. These outer sides 46 also serve to mount equipment in the cabinetwhen hte equipment is mounted directly thereto rather than in a panel.The inner side 47 of the channel 15 also may be used to mount equipmentdirectly thereon and may furhter be used to mount the chassis supportingstructure 16 which will be described.

The chassis supporting structure 16 consists of a front chassis supportmember 51 extending across the cabinet between the front channels 15, arear chassis support member 52 extending across the cabinet between therear channels 15, and a pair of chassis guide members 53 extendingbetween the chassis support members. The support members 51 and 52 areshown in FIG. to be U- shaped in vertical cross section so as toincrease the strength of the member. The top side 54 of each chassissupport member is provided with a plurality of holes 55 for theadjustable attachment of the guide members 53 and each end of eachsupport member is provided with a vertical flange 56 having a hole 57which may be aligned with the holes 48 of the inner side 4.7 of thevertical mounting channel as by means. of a nut and bolt or a lockingscrew.

Each chassis guide member 53 has a horizontal base portion 60 extendingbetween the support members 51 and 52 and having a slot 6-1 at each endaligned with the holes55 on. the top side 54 of the support members forthe attaching of the guide members to the support members. with aplurality of holes to facilitate mounting of equipment thereon. Avertical flange 63 depends from the inner side of the horizontal base 60and abuts opposite chassis support members to add rigidity to thechassis supporting structure .16. Another vertical flange 64 extendsupwardly along the outer edge of the horizontal base portion 60extending between the chassis support members. This vertical flange 64serves to guide a chassis or drawer which may be mounted on the chassissupporting structure .16. The chassis guide members 53 are furtherprovided with riser bars 65 secured to the top of the horizontal baseportion 60- and extending the length thereof between the vertical flange64 and the holes 62. These riser bars 65 support a drawer or chassisabove bolts or other attachments in the holes 62 so that movement of thedrawer or chassis will not be obstructed by the bolts or otherattachments.

The particular chassis supporting structure 16 described in detail aboveprovides an especially flexible mounting structure for equipment or thelike. The structure itself may be mounted in any of a multitude ofpositions corresponding to the number of holes 48 in the channels 15.Thus, equipment may be vertically positioned in almost any desiredlocation. Further, the chassis guide members 53 may be positioned asdesired along the support members 51 and 52 provided the slots 61overlay the holes 55. Thus, equipment may be mounted in almost anyhorizontal position.

In FIG. 1a cabinet 70 is illustrated having a top 71 and a bottom 72which are similar in construction to the top member 11 and bottom member12 of the cabinet 10 illustrated in FIG. 2. However, the top 71 is notbolted or screwed to the bottom 72 but rather is hinged thereto alongits rear edge. This is accomplished by securing, as by welding, a reartop panel 73 in the panel recess of the top 71 with the bottom edge ofthe panel 73 flush with the bottom of the top 71. A similar panel orstrip 74 is mounted in the panel recess at the rear of the bottom 72with its top'edge flush with the top of the bottom 72. With thisconstruction, a hinge 75, such as a piano hinge, is mounted along therear edge and secured to both the top '71 and bot-tom 72. The front ofthe cabinet 70 of FIG. 1 is enclosed by a panel 76 secured to verticalchannel bars 77 in a construction similar to the panel and end channelbar construction of the cabinet of FIGS. 3 and 4.

The hinged cabinet 70 of FIG. 1 facilitates the inspection, repair, andreplacement of equipment within the cabinet. 'I'hus, if the equipmentmust be examined, replaced, or repaired, it may not be necessary toremove the panel 76 as muchof the equipment may be accessible simply byraising the top 71.

FIG. 10 illustrates a hinged cabinet 80 similar in construction to thecabinet 70 of FIG. 1 except for the addition'of spacer members 81. Thebottom member 82 is identical to the bottom member 72 of FIG. 1 and thetop member 87 is identical to the top 71 of FIG. 1. The spacer members81 are mounted between the top and bottom and have flanges 84 at theirends which mate with flanges 85 of the top and bottom. members. Thespacer members 81 are secured to the bottom member 82 by bolt- Thishorizontal base portion 60 is also provided ing the flanges 84 to theflanges 85 of the bottom member.

A rear top panel 86, identical with the panel 73 of FIG. 1, is mountedat the rear of the top member. with a bottom flange 87 substantiallyflush withthe flanges 85 of the top member. A piano hinge 88 is securedto the bottom flange 87 with its axis ina horizontal plane.- The hingebars 90 secured to the spacer members 81 and bottom member 82. The topmember 87, top panel 86, hinge .88 and strip 89 form a-subassembly whichcan be removed from the cabinet so that diflerent sized spacer membersand channel bars may be interchanged to vary the size of the'cabinet asdesired.

As'in the construction of FIG. 1, the hing'edcabinet 80 of FIG. permitseasy access to the interior of the cabinet simply by swinging the topmember 87 upwardly about the hinge 88 so that equipment within thecabinet may be easily inspected, repaired, or replaced.

From the above description it is apparent that the present inventionteaches a cabinet construction which can be enlarged or reduced inheight by simply changing the size of spacer members 13. Theconstruction is extremely simple, requiring only the top 11, bottom 12,and spacer members 13. These members are bolted together and furtherstrengthened by the vertical channel bars which serve the triple purposeof strengthening the cabinet, serving as a mounting for panels and as amounting for equipment and equipment mounting structures. The uniqueequipment mounting structure 16 of this invention when combined with thecabinet, permits mounting of equipment at almost any position within thecabinet. When the hinged construction of FIG. 1 is utilized, theequipment is easily accessible for repair, inspection, or replacement.

Therefore, the present invention provides a simple, inexpensive yetsturdy cabinet construction which may be assembled in various sizes froma minimum number of interchangeable parts for the mounting of equipmentin almost any position.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many differentforms, there are shown in the drawings and are herein described indetail several embodiments with the understanding that the presentdisclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principlesof the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to theembodiments illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed outin the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. An instrument cabinet, comprising: a U-shaped bottom member formed ofsheet metal and having a base portion and upstanding opposed sideportions, the ends of said side portions having inturned substantiallyhorizontal flanges; a U-shaped top member formed of sheet metal andhaving a base portion and depending opposed side portions spaced fromand vertically aligned with the side portions of said bottom member, theends of said side portions having inturned substantially horizontalflanges; spacer members formed of sheet metal and mounted between theside portions of said top and bottom members and having top and bottominturned substantially horizontal flanges which mate with the flanges ofthe top and bottom members, said top, bottom and spacer members definingfront and rear panel mounting recesses; means for removably securing theflanges of said spacer members to the flanges of said side portions topermit interchanging of various sized spacer members; and a pair ofvertical support channels on each side of the cabinet, said channelsbeing U-shaped in horizontal cross section having a base secured at aplurality of points to each the bottom, top and spacer members, andhaving a pair of vertical leg portions extending into said panelmounting recess substantially normal to the sides of the cabinet, theouter of said leg portions being provided for the mounting of a paneland the inner leg portion being provided for themountingofinstrumentation or other equipment. q

2. An instrument cabinet, comprising: .a U-shaped bottom memberformed-of sheet metalandhaving a base portion and upstanding opposedside portions, the end-s of said side portions having inturnedsubstantially horizontal flangesya' U-shaped topmember formed of sheetmetal and having a base portion and depending opposed side portionsvertically aligned wi-ththe side portions of said bottom -member,'theends of said'side portions having inturnedsubstantially horizontalflanges; said top and bottom members defining front and rear panelmounting recesses; means for removably securing thejflanges of said sideportions together; and a pair of veritcal support channels oneach sideof the cabinet, said channels being U-shaped in horizontal crosssection. having a base secured at a plurality of points to each thebottom, and top members, and having a pair of vertical leg portionsextending into said panel mounting recess substantially normal to thesides of the cabinet, the outer of said leg portions being provided forthe mounting of a panel and the inner leg portion being provided for themounting of instrumentation or other equipment.

3. An instrument cabinet, comprising: a U-shaped bottom member formed ofsheet metal and having a base portion and upstanding opposed sideportions, the ends of said side portions having inturned substantiallyhorizontal flanges; a bottom rear panel secured between the rear of theside portions of the bottom member and having an inturned flange at thetop substantially flush with the inturned flanges of the bottom memberside portions; a U-shaped top member formed of sheet metal and having abase portion and depending opposed side portions vertically aligned withthe side portions of said bottom member, the ends of said side portionshaving inturned substantially horizontal flanges; a top rear panelsecured between the rear of the side portions of the top member andhaving an inturned flange at the bottom substantially flush with theinturned flanges of the top member side portions; a hinge member, havinga horizontal axis, secured to both said bottom panel flange and said toppanel flange to mount the top member on the cabinet for pivotal movementto expose the interior of the cabinet; said top and bottom membersdefining a front panel mounting recess; and a pair of vertical supportchannels on each side of the cabinet, said channels being U-shaped inhorizontal cross section having a base secured at a plurality of pointsto the side portion of the bottom member and having a pair of verticalleg portions extending inwardly substantially normal to the sides of thecabinet, the outer of said leg portions being provided for the mountingof a panel and the inner leg portion being provided for the mounting ofinstrumentation or other equipment.

4. An instrument cabinet, comprising: a U-shaped bottom member formed ofsheet metal and having a base portion and upstanding opposed sideportions, the ends of said side portions having inturned substantiallyhorizontal flanges; a U-shaped top member formed of sheet metal andhaving a base portion and depending opposed side portions spaced fromand vertically aligned with the side portions of said bottom member, theends of said side portions having inturned substantially horizontalflanges; spacer members mounted between the side portions of said topand bottom members and having top and bottom inturned substantiallyhorizontal flanges which mate with the flanges of the top and bottommembers; a top rear panel secured between the rear panel secured betweenthe rear of the side portions of the top member and having an inturnedflange at the bottom substantially flush with the inturned flanges ofthe top member side portions; a bottom rear panel extending between therear of the spacer members and having an inturned flange at the topsubstantially flush with the inturned flanges of the spacer members; ahinge member, having a horizontal -axis, secured toboth said bottompanel flange-andsaid top panel tflange; means for removably securing thespacer members-to the bottom 'memberand to- 'the'-bot 'tom'rear-'paneltopermit interchangingof various -"sized spacer' members,said top member and top rear panel --being pivo'ta-ble about saidhingeto expose the interior of said cabinet; said top, spacer, and bottommembers defining a front panei mounting recess;'and apair of verticalsupport-channel's on each side of the cabinet,

said channels being-U-shaped in horizontal'cros's' section having a basesecured at a plurality of points to each the spacer member. and thesideporti'onof'the bottom memher and having a p'air'of verticallegportions extending I inwardly substantially normal to thesides of thecabinet, the outer of said legportions being-provided -for the mountingof a panel and the inner leg portion being provided for the mounting ofinstrumentation or other equipfln I I 1 1 References Cited in the fileof this riatent U ITED; STATES PATE TS 1,546,931: Hin e k l ey July 21,1925 i 2,039,614 Tinnerman May 5,11936 2,418,152 Avery'- Apr. 1, 19472,424,217 Bales July 22, .1947 1 2,551,244 9 Zelov June 19, 1951 I2,902,328 1' Auer 'Sept.l, 1959 T RRE EBENC Elgin Metalformers "corpQ(Emcor'), Bulletin 102- CAIOM-154, printed Feb. 26, 1 254. US.

. py j Patent office, Division 8.) I Y

